The Oklahoma City Thunder picked up the team option in Lu Dort’s contract, meaning he will be back on the team next season and making $17.2 million. At least, that’s what it seems like. Unfortunately, if the Thunder want to duck the NBA’s second apron, then they will almost certainly have to find a way to trade him by the deadline this year.
After re-signing Isaiah Hartenstein and Kenrich Williams to new contracts, the Thunder are going to be well above the second apron. OKC already dumped a couple of contracts this summer, seemingly in hopes of staying below the aprons. But after picking up Dort’s team option, they are projected to be over the second apron.
So, if they want to get below it, it seems as though they will have a painful decision to make in the next few months.
Thunder dumping Lu Dort seems inevitable
Dort has been a staple in Oklahoma City for years. He’s been a key building block for the franchise, having been with the team since getting signed as an undrafted free agent and helping them win a championship in 2025.
Though Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams were the heads of the snake in OKC when the team won the title, Dort – for a while – has been one of the leaders for the Thunder.
Giving him up would be crushing for the Thunder and their fanbase. But at this point, it feels pretty inevitable that he’ll be traded by the beginning of the season (or by the deadline).
OKC has already put things in motion. It’s clear that the Thunder don’t want to be an excessively expensive team heading into next season. They’ve already traded a couple of players.
The Thunder traded Isaiah Joe to the Detroit Pistons and Aaron Wiggins to the Atlanta Hawks. Both moves saw zero players come back to the Thunder in return. The trades were basically just salary dumps.
If the Thunder didn’t plan to duck below the second apron – at the very least – then they probably wouldn’t have traded Joe and Wiggins in the manner that they did.
And if you read the tea leaves, or just take a quick look at the guys who are under contract for the Thunder heading into next season, it’s clear that if they want to duck the apron, Dort has to go.
When OKC picked up his option, it came as a bit of a surprise. But in reality, the Thunder were just delaying the inevitable.
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